Sensitivity is paramount when dealing with the loaded issue of contraception in Bermuda, according to activist Lynne Winfield.

Ms Winfield spoke in the wake of the Coalition for the Protection of Children launching an advertising campaign for its provision of family planning help to anyone requiring it.

“Written evidence exists that the old oligarchy were constantly trying to control the number of black Bermudians on the Island, and this occurred through banishment of free blacks, racialised immigration policies going back years, and family planning efforts,” Ms Winfield said, calling it “naive” to ignore.

“When discussing family planning there must be sensitivity to the concerns that arise in the community. There is an oppressive history around population control in Bermuda, and you have to look at that past and understand that it was always focused primarily on black people.”

She said she understood the Coalition’s campaign to be an effort to help families in “desperate financial situations” who couldn’t afford family planning.

“It must not be a matter of encouraging people to do it, but instead be solely focused on those who desperately want it and reach out to the Coalition for assistance,” Ms Winfield added.

“There are many countries like Bermuda with falling birth rates, and many of them have programmes to assist with costs by providing stipends, tax breaks and other incentives. In France a combination of these efforts have raised the country’s birth rate to one of the highest in Europe. Given Bermuda’s history, it is doubtful that this option will be pursued in Bermuda.”